Tender vessels in the United States will soon need to comply with new safety regulations as mandated by the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010. This thesis focuses specifically on assisting in the formation of an Alternative Safety Compliance Program (ASCP) for the unique tender vessel fleet and seeks to understand why tender vessels experience fatalities and vessel casualties. By analyzing data of tendermen fatalities and tender vessel casualties between 2000 and 2012, the report sheds light on the realities of these incidents. Among other findings, the data show that the most common cause of vessel casualty was striking rocks or the ocean floor, and the most common human error was falling asleep at the helm. This thesis then proposes potential regulations that would be economically feasible and realistic for tenders by comparing the casualty data to the reported financial realities of current tender vessels. Notably, the analysis indicates that applying the current Alternative Compliance and Safety Agreement (ACSA) to tenders would not be beneficial. Ultimately, the proposed regulations herein should act as a foundation for a discussion regarding an alternative compliance agreement, as the final agreement will be reached through a much greater dialogue between many involved parties, including tendermen, regulators, safety compliance experts, and others.